by Hugh Kellenberger, USA TODAY Sports

by Hugh Kellenberger, USA TODAY Sports

OXFORD, Miss. - When Marshall Henderson arrived at Ole Miss in the summer of 2012 he did so with a troubled past, one that included drug use and a recent month-long stint in jail. This was, at best, his third chance to make something of himself.

It was also, as it turned out, not his last shot.

Ole Miss announced this week that it will sit Henderson, the SEC's leading scorer last season and one of college basketball's more well-known figures, for three games, including the regular season opener on Nov. 8 and the first two conference games in January. The punishment, the school said, was for the sum total of his on- and off-court transgressions, including a May traffic stop where police found both cocaine and marijuana in his car.

The fact that he was given the opportunity after his suspension was first announced in mid-July to earn his way back on the team is unusual, even coach Andy Kennedy admits. During the last two seasons, three players have been kicked off the team for drug-related offenses.

Dundrecous Nelson and Jamal Jones were gone two days after a January 2012 arrest on charges of drug paraphernalia. The school went so far as to have copies of Nelson's arrest report available at the press conference to announce his dismissal. Seven months later, Jason Carter was charged with marijuana possession. He never played a game for Ole Miss, and left school at the end of the first semester.

So why is Henderson still at Ole Miss, despite another situation involving illicit drugs?

"If he was charged with that offense," Kennedy said, "we would be having a different conversation."

Oxford police chief Joey East said in July that the amount of the drugs in Henderson's car was not enough to prosecute. That simple fact appears to be what has saved Henderson's career.

Pressed on the May incident, Kennedy said it was "an allegation" and "we deal with the facts."

Henderson admitted to ESPN.com this week that he let his fame consume him after last season, creating a rationale that made drug use acceptable.

He was not dismissed from the team in July when he was given an indefinite suspension and the fact he was not indicates it was always the school's hope Henderson would earn his way back. He has done so, with athletic director Ross Bjork ultimately determining the length of the punishment.

"Our drug testing policy (calls for a suspension of) up to 25 percent of games, so we have flexibility in that. And really just took it case-by-case," Bjork said. "There was a message that we had to send that we were taking this very seriously and therefore the conference games, I think, send a strong message."

The part of Ole Miss' athlete drug-testing policy Bjork is referring to is for a second offense, and could have meant up to an eight-game suspension for Henderson. A third offense calls for immediate dismissal.

While neither Kennedy or Bjork would say (citing privacy laws) that Henderson is down to his last strike, he told ESPN.com that he has to report daily for random drug testing.

"Zero tolerance is an easy term," Kennedy said. "Zero tolerance is a pretty vague term as well. But he's to the point that he knows that he's used up a lot of his lives as it relates to being a college athlete. I think he understands that."

Before arriving in Oxford, while attending three schools in as many years, Henderson admitted to using $800 of counterfeit money to buy drugs and also spent 25 days in jail for violating his probation by testing positive for cocaine, marijuana and alcohol.

While Ole Miss told Henderson his past was the past and would not follow him to Oxford, the public made no such promise - and all his offenses over the last four years (both on and off the court) have created a public perception that this was another case of a school choosing winning basketball games over right and wrong.

Bjork bristled at the suggestion.

"I know and trust in our conversations that we had, with Andy and myself, that it is purely about the young man," Bjork said. "We don't care if he never plays another game here. That's not what it is about. It's about helping somebody who had a moment of trouble and he needs help and we decided to help him. He's an Ole Miss student-athlete, and our job is to help our student-athletes. We will never apologize for defending that every step of the way."

Ole Miss has forbidden Henderson from tweeting and will try to tame the on-court antics that made games feel at times last season like, in Kennedy's words, "a circus." The school has also facilitated a relationship between Chris Herren, a drug addict throughout his college and NBA career, and Henderson. Herren was brought to campus this semester and spoke to all athletes, but spent one-on-one time with Henderson.

Given another final chance, Henderson has so far said all the right things (he will not speak publicly again until his suspension has been lifted). But Kennedy acknowledged that there's still a significant amount of faith being put in Henderson's hands.

"I can control what he does when he's in this building," Kennedy said. "I try my best to control what he does when he's in those games, sometimes more successful than others. But when he leaves here our goal is for him to think for himself and as we all have to make the right decisions."